Torch & go! Olympic spacecraft preparing for launch (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

Space engineers have set up the rocket which will carry the Olympic flame to the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The launch of Soyuz TMA-11M is scheduled for Thursday.

The Soyuz spacecraft will be boosted by a Soyuz-FG rocket from
the first launch pad of the Cosmodrome, the so-called Gagarin’s
Start. It will be the first-ever delivery of an Olympic flame
into space.

To mark its unusual cargo, both the manned Soyuz and the rocket
are decorated in Sochi Winter Olympics theme. The capsule carries
the logo of the games, while the rocket was painted with a
patchwork design, featuring traditional Russian images and
patterns like the firebird and Gzhel designs. A torch flame is also shown on the
mission patch.

The three members of the ISS Expedition 38 who man the spaceship
are Russia’s Mikhail Turin, NASA’s Richard Mastracchio and
Japan’s Koichi Wakata. They all are veteran space explorers doing
their third or fourth flights.

The spacemen are to take part in the ongoing Olympic torch relay.
They will carry a burning Sochi Games torch from their hotel to
the bus which will carry them to the launch site.

The zero-G environment and safety measures required some
compromises for the space leg of the torch relay. The flame will
not be kept burning on the ISS as it would be prone to
self-extinguishing, consume extra oxygen and pose a potential
threat to the structure. But the torch will be carried all over
the station modules and will be taken into open space during a
spacewalk on Saturday.

The space station has prepared for the arrival of the torch
mission. Last Friday the current ISS crew undocked the Soyuz
TMA-09M capsule from the Rassvet dock module and relocated it to
the Zvezda service module. The dock is now free to receive the
Soyuz TMA-11M.

The Olympic torch is to spend five days in orbit. The Soyuz
TMA-09M is to return it back home next week along with Fyodor
Yurchikhin, Karen Nyberg and Luca Parmitano, who are currently
working on the ISS.